Reflection for Module 3 - Perfect e-storm

This is my concept map for an online class. The exercise was good, because when new courses online are formed, it is the teacher who decides the objectives and makes the course her own. I read again about the concept of backward design, where one starts with the desired outcomes and writes objectives with the outcomes in mind and then fills in with the specific activities that will accomplish the task. I have always found that writing objectives has been the place that stops me for a while when I am planning. Actually, it should be the first step, but it also should be dynamic. Sometimes after I have taught a class, I realize that the objectives need adjusting, because some may not be necessary, or need to be divided, or rearranged.
Inspiration is a great program. It is so easy manipulate, and the final product is great. I went all the way through the tutorial. It is a great program to have for students. I didn’t try the “Kidspiration” but I think the skill of thinking in clusters helps kids to categorize facts and information. I have found that some students find that very difficult, except when it is done visually. This is a program that I would encourage our school to get for elementary and high school classrooms. I especially like how it can be used within many different programs because of the option to move it to Word, and save it as .jpg or .gif.


I have posted a Great Ideas section on my blog separately this time in order to keep them easily accessible in a separate category. I want to post them this way so that I can call them up easily. So please include them as part of my reflection.

The Bonk article was really eye-opening to me. The possibilities of the WWW are always amazing, and I’m constantly awed by the changes during my teaching career. I wondered the other day how much of my initial education courses really even applied today, and I wonder what would have happened if I had just stayed with what I had been taught. I am constantly reminded that a teacher must be a lifelong learner, which makes this vocation one of the most demanding ever. Some people who never read and never learn anything new must be really bored! J
I am still uneasy about the widespread use of MMOGs in education. Because of the huge potential for followers, the developers would have to be very committed to truth and not to take liberties with it. Impressionable children do need to have a clear understanding of what is real and what is fantasy. They do pick up on the subtleties and sometimes they are not able to separate the experience from the truth. I have two examples that in no way should be interpreted as an over reaction, but as something to think about. The movie “Shrek” was really fun. However, the sometimes crude behavior was validated by this loveable creature. Another is the movie, “The Patriot” which is a great movie, but it is historically out of synch. To some, that doesn’t matter because it was entertaining. But because the medium is so powerful, wouldn’t it be wise to teach the truth while we’re at it? I know about marketing and the entertainment industry, but for some reason, I have students who feel that if it is not fun or entertaining, they don’t need to bother with it. That approach to life probably wouldn’t survive with high achievers and those who are highly motivated to learn. However, with the reluctant learner, this idea could hinder for a long time until a dose of reality hits.
I know these thoughts are not popular with many people, so I don’t often articulate them. I am committed to teaching the truth in the most inviting way possible for my students, and I would want the gaming/education industry to be also.

Great Ideas - Module 3

It is so great to learn from each other as we are in this class. The different perspectives are so valuable! I just want to record here in my blog some great ideas gleaned from the discussions (in no particular order). I want to use these ideas and not forget them, so it seems this is the best place to record them since I have way too many sticky notes on my monitor and file cabinet!:
1. JAWS – a great reader program for visually handicapped students. Younger students may need help, but could listen.
2. Two-button mouse can be used on a Mac! They don’t come with one, but can use one. Also, cntrl + click is the same as right click on a PC.
3. Avatar – this was confusing, but I like this explanation (Jamison, I think) “a digital representation of yourself.” Simple, so why did I have the confusion?
4. Second Life – an online virtual world available for all who wish to enter. I will check out Ohio University Second Life Campus.
5. Concept Map – Use for a syllabus! (Thanks again, Laura) The other ones are boring anyway.
6. Concept Map – Curved lines are something I never thought of. That is a great idea to portray that re-visiting the concept may be necessary.
7. Student e-portfolios – I need to check into this for my daughter. However, if I could make a good template, this is something that I think our school would really like. I will need to do more research. They will want it VERY secure.

Reflection for Module 2 - Emerging Practices of Online Assessment

I had not thought much about using blogs as part of my classroom before the discussion and reading in this module. Realistically, I know it will be very difficult to break the ice at school, because while all the teachers, administrators, parents and most of the students use it regularly, the “pitfalls” are feared. I know some of my classmates do not understand that kind of thinking. However, having the resources to provide protection for the students is a real issue in a school that is not publicly funded.
That being said, I still feel like I am on the shaky end of the learning curve with blogs. Even though my family has its own blog, I haven’t had to set up anything. I started this module wondering how a chronological set of paragraphs of random thoughts could be used for class learning. I ended up creating a blog on edublogs.com and blogger.com. I found that edublogs seemed to have more choices in theme, but that blogger.com was very easy to understand. For me at this time, that is important.

I have been thinking about the constructivists view that students use their existing knowledge or what they already know to build new information. This is called a knowledge base. When students do a wide range of reading, they acquire a wide base of understanding that helps them to understand by connecting new suggestions with the ones they already know. I am thinking that whatever it takes, by blogs or using the internet or creating projects, students need to increase that knowledge base because it is crucial to basic understanding. Since I started teaching the younger secondary students (7th grade), I have found students that have so little metacognition, and have great difficulty drawing from their knowledge base. I wonder if it is a genuine lack of knowledge, or if the stress of middle school makes the connections and inferences inaccessible. Either way, a constructivist philosophy of teaching should address those issues. It should draw the students out and get them to grasp for connections because they “own” their work. This helps me to understand the value of the learner-centered approach to teaching and encourages me to move my teaching style more in that direction.

The discussion about the relationship between measurement, assessment and evaluation was interesting. So many schools only measure and use that as evaluation. Assessment that takes place in the classroom, generating adjustments in teaching methods and student responses, are rarely reported or used as part of overall evaluation. I think rubrics can solve that problem by articulating levels of competency in areas that are difficult to quantify.

So, my plans for all the information that I have learned in this module is to try to incorporate the use of a blog in one of my classes. Realistically, it does take a policy change in the administration and that could move very slowly. In the meantime, I will continue to share what I am learning with them, hoping they will get excited about it themselves.

Interactive Inventory results

My experience in teaching began with a strong teacher-centered style mainly because that was how I was taught to teach. Many of those elements are still present in my teaching, probably because of habit. So, some of the statements that I chose were not necessarily student-centered. I do have a strong sense that students need to be taught clearly what is right. While I know that they will learn the right answer eventually, I sometimes wonder if leaving incorrect answers too long is harmful. I do believe that assessment should be used to monitor learning. Students do learn well when they can participate in the discovery, organization and presentation of material they need to learn. They love projects and what they learn from them does help them to do well in formal evaluations.
I think my approach is changing as I learn new techniques and methods. I like that statement that says that teaching and assessing are intertwined. However, it is easy to depend on the measurement approach, since my school requires verifiable grades. For now, I am including as many student-oriented activities and projects as I can put together for my units, as well as the tests and quizzes that are expected.
The way that I do this for now, is to identify the minimum body of material they need to know, make sure that is given to them and then provide extra projects that delve into the subject a bit more.
I think that I answered some of the questions on the inventory as I thought it should be. However, realistically, I have a way to go to real student-oriented teaching.

Introduction, part 3

The following is a copy of my responses to my instructor's questions. I have included the entire email correspondence because I appreciate her encouraging words.

"From: Khalsa, DattaKaurSent: Sun 9/16/2007 11:31 AMTo: Thompson, Sharon Subject: RE: Your introduction
Sharon,
Your answers to my questions is so, so sincere and thoughtful. I think I would post it as is...such a nice job. Let me know if you need me to answer your interview questions. I would gladly and then post yours or...
You could pass these wonderful answers you've given me to either John or Sandy for a 'classmate-to-classmate' interview. I'll await your answer. Either way is just fine!
Datta Kaur Khalsa, Ph.D. Graduate Faculty School of Education University of Wisconsin - Stout Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University
-----Original Message----- From: Thompson, Sharon G Sent: Sun 9/16/2007 9:39 AM To: Khalsa, DattaKaur Subject: RE: Your introduction Datta Kaur,
Thank you for those questions. I appreciate questions that immediately deepen the level of the conversation away from small talk!
First, let me tell you that I am a middle school social studies teacher. I have been teaching for 24 years in private Christian schools. After founding a K12 Christian school in northern Wisconsin (along with a lot of help from my friends) not long out of college, I became its administrator for 12 years. My husband is a public school technology teacher, which includes woods and construction. His job brought us to Madison, Wisconsin 11 years ago, where he is near retirement in a public school, I have been teaching in a large Christian school here for 10 years. It was a difficult move, since our roots are very deep in northern Wisconsin. However, we've had many wonderful challenges since then that help us to call this home for now.
My happiest moments are when my whole family is together. We have 5 children and 7 beautiful grandchildren (all under the age of 8), and since we moved, our times together are precious. I enjoy seeing the success of our 4 boys with their families (two of them are married). Our daughter is the youngest at 16, and we enjoy sharing her home schooling. She is actually in a public virtual school this year and loves it! So I would have to say that it makes me very happy to see our family growing and embracing the values that I hold dear.
Professionally, my happiest moments are when I can weave into my teaching the study of worldviews. That has been a particular interest of mine and I enjoy integrating its study into my world history classes.
I am tempted here to say that I could never go without my morning cup of coffee. J However, I have had to do that several times in the last year after several major surgeries. I had a total knee replacement six weeks ago, and it takes a while to recover from that, I found. The one thing that I would never want to do without is my faith. I can take that with me wherever I go and in whatever I do, regardless of difficult circumstances. I really can't think of much else that is not subject to change and loss, even though I may view it as an essential of life. So I have tried to hold loosely to the "things" of life (notice I said "tried").
I am sure that if I were not involved in this program, it would be in another educational pursuit. Reading, learning and discovering new ways to be involved in education, has always filled up my spare time. I would, however, enjoy having more time to be with my daughter especially in the next few years. This is one of the reasons for starting on this program. If I am able to teach online, it could mean that I would be more accessible to her, and also prepare for a move when my husband retires in a few years.
Sorry this is so long. Hope you can glean a few useable things from this conversation...
Sharon"

Introduction, part 2

"More about Sharon T.
Sharon T. is an experienced middle school social studies teacher. She describes her happiest moments when she is able to weave the study of world viewsinto her teaching. She has founded a school, loves her morning coffee, values time with family and has had to practice her faith to overcome the changes (leaving extended family and moving to a new community) and challenges she has faced. Sharon is a person that I would like to get to know better because of the many things that we have in common.Sandra, OH"

My Introduction, part 1

These introductions were fun and sometimes I think it would have been good to interview with each classmate. However, that would be a huge job! Someday, when there's more time, right?
I was introduced twice since several needed someone to interview. I will post each, and also the responses I sent to my instructor.
"Intro for Sharon T.
I would like to introduce Sharon Thompson. Sharon is from the Madison, Wisconsin area where she teaches middle school social studies. She has been teaching for 24 years in private Christian schools. Before that, she founded and was the administrator for a K12 Christian school for 12 years. Sharon's husband is also a teacher. He teaches tech ed in a public school and is looking forward to retirement soon.Sharon enjoys spending time with her family. She has 5 children (4 boys and a girl) and 7 grandchildren – all grandchildren are under the age of 8! If teaching full-time isn't enough, she home schools her 16-year-old daughter. Sharon hopes to spend more time with her youngest in the next few years, which is one of the reasons for starting in this program.In her spare time, Sharon enjoys reading, learning and discovering new ways to be involved in education. Her strong faith has helped her through several major surgeries in the past year, including a knee replacement six weeks ago. I look forward to having class with you again, Sharon!Jennifer@Lititz, PA"